


I am what you give me

by Croft



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst, TOO MUCH, idk what to tag, you'll probs puke rainbows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 17:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10167875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Croft/pseuds/Croft
Summary: Valentine's Day. The thought made him laugh. How could people be stupid enough to fall in such a marketing strategy? And though the idea seemed dumb for him, he found himself longing for his husband.Just a ramble on how I imagine they'd spend such a day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I'm very excited to share this since it's the first time I write about these two idiots. I wrote it as a Valentines' gift for a friend, I didn't expect it to get this long (okay, it may not be that long) but I liked how it turned up and decided to share it. There's so little content about this great pairing ;( This was translated from Spanish (as you can guess it's my mother tongue) so if there's any errors or expressions that don't make sense, I'm sorry, I worked very hard on this. That's why I'm uploading it so late after the date but well. Hope you enjoy! <3
> 
> PS: If you like archaeology and/or history, you totally should check out the show mentioned, it's awesome, I'm hooked up with it uh

Rafe returned from work quite tired and tense to the apartment in which he had lived with Sam for a year. He had two long meetings that absorbed all of his energy and to top it off, he had to take care of closing by video-call an important agreement with a French magnate because apparently nobody was as qualified in the language as he was.

_Idiots. I should just fire them all. Close the company and go to that trip to The Maldives with Sam that we always postpone for one thing or another. Just disappear for a while and forget._

But deep down he knew he wouldn’t do it. Sam had recently gotten a job as an archaeology professor at a nearby university and he loved to see the older man's eyes light up whenever he talked about how fast his students learned or about random curiosities that happened to him while on class. Rafe could spend his entire life enraptured watching Sam just talking about whatever but that positive energy that emanated from him when talking about what he loved most, the pirate story, was of such a magnitude that he would always end up absorbed in it. It made him forget everything else until it was just the two of them and those crazy characters he described. Rafe was often genuinely smiling around Sam, which he rarely did with other people unless it was in a political way.

That's why he wouldn't deprive the man of this opportunity for just a ridiculous whim of his. He was an adult man and he could cope with this, he could control his emotions.

He opened the flat’s door and saw nothing but darkness. This was the bad part of the matter, Sam had morning and evening shifts, and he occasionally exchanged them with other teachers. It seemed like today was one of those days. Sighing, he took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack next to his leather briefcase.

Valentine's Day. The thought made him laugh. How could people be stupid enough to fall in such a marketing strategy? Love had to be proved every day with facts, not with a dumb gift bought at the last minute. Although for Rafe this feeling was still relatively new and he did not know how to handle it or show it. For years he had hated himself so much, got used to the idea that no human in their right mind could ever feel any empathy for him, let alone fall in love with a monster like him. Until Sam came and turned his world upside down. Even after so many years at his side, after so many caresses, kisses and soft words whispered in the night telling him how important he was to him, how much he loved him, it was difficult for Rafe to process it as a real thing happening to him. But Sam was a good instructor and Rafe a quick apprentice who was learning to believe in it.

Though the idea seemed dumb for him, he found himself longing for his husband on the way to his bedroom. He had not seen Sam since early in the morning when he left for the office.

 _Goddammit Sam, I took some of your cheesiness_ he thought despite the shadow of a smile appearing at the corners of his lips.

It was then when he heard a noise proceeding from the kitchen. He stopped short. The room was on the other side of the apartment, beyond the spiral staircase that led to the second floor. That was the reason he didn't notice the radiating light coming from the half-closed door.

Robbers? The house's alarm was connected to his mobile and it would notify him if any intruders tried to enter. Hadn't been the case. Sam? But he had classes today, hadn't he?

Not quite sure what was happening, he slowly approached the shelf where he had gathered several trophies won over the years and grabbed one received at a horse riding championship. Quietly, he headed to the kitchen and carefully opened the door.

The first thing he saw was a dirty kitchen roller in front of the door surrounded by white poder. Flour? The counter was a mess; dirty dishes, more white powder, scattered kitchen utensils, something colorful and thick was falling from one of the walls of the furniture. The pantry door was open. But there was no one. Rafe frowned.

-Sam?

A metallic sound and a groan. Rafe quickly turned the long countertop and there was Sam pulling his head out of the oven while putting his hand there where he had hit himself.

-Holy shit Rafe, you scared the hell out of me! Why didn't you knock the door?

Sam lifted up and turned to look at Rafe. This bit his lip in a strange expression trying not to laugh at what he saw.

-What? What's wrong?- Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. His gaze fell on the trophy Rafe had in his hand- why are you grabbing that?

Rafe looked at his hand, at Sam again and couldn’t stand it any longer, he laughed out loud. Sam's face was painted in various colors as if it were an abstract painting and his hair was scrambled. His clothes and ironically convenient apron that simply said "dirty old man" were grubby of the same colors and the flour.

-Been playing paintball without _my_ permission at home?- he feigned indignation but his eyes were smiling.

-Paintball?- Rafe found Sam's bewildered expression adorable.

Rafe left the trophy on the floor so as not to stain it and approached his disaster of a man. He raised his hand and ran his thumb across Sam’s cheek, lifting a strip of color. Then he showed it to him and Sam stared at it. He laughed scandalously when he got it.

-Guess I've been discovered.

To Rafe's surprise, Sam grabbed his finger and shoved it into his mouth, licking it slowly as he gazed Rafe intensely. Rafe felt his cheeks going all hot and the slight movement of something in his belly.

-Ey, doesn’t taste so bad after all.

Rafe couldn’t speak. The power that Sam exercised over him always angered him.

-Cat got your tongue?- Sam raised his eyebrows and gave him a soft kiss on his nose.

-What have I supposedly discovered?- he replied regaining his composure and feeling kinda curious.

-Fiiiirst I'm gonna wash my face and change my clothes. Or do you want me this filthy?- he closed the distance as if to give him a hug well knowing how meticulous Rafe was with cleanliness. Instinctively, he stepped back and slipped with the flour. He would've fallen if Sam hadn't grabbed him by the arm.

-Fuck!- Rafe exclaimed.

-You better clean this up before we have an accident. I'll be right back.

-But you're the one who messed it up!

\- Good point- he answered from the door with a wink and disappeared from sight.

-You moron!

-Love you too!- was heard in the distance.

Sighing, he turned to look at the dirty worktop. He felt the first tentacles of anxiety climbing up his body when seeing the chaos.

_Chaos. Out of control. Control. Rafe, **control yourself.**_

He cleaned the furniture with those two words repeating itself in his mind until he opened the refrigerator. There was a cake, or rather, something that resembled one. The colors were intermixed and through them you could see the mass of the sponge cake. There was something written in red raspberry on its top but it was was unintelligible to read from the position he was in.

He was about to pick it up when he felt a pair of arms slide down his waist and Sam whispering in his ear:

\- Happy Valentine's Day, babe.

Sam proceeded to leave a line of kisses from his ear to the hollow of his shoulder that made Rafe shudder in his arms and bring his body closer to him. Sam smiled on his skin.

-This ... you did this.

-Bingo! We have a winner.

\- I know that you are not a good cook and that it probably has taken a lot of effort of you but...- his body trembled as he tried to suppress a laugh- and I appreciate the gesture but…

-Buuut…

-This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen all day.

For the second time he laughed that night and to Sam there wasn't a better reward after having spent a tedious afternoon fighting with food than being able to hear the genuine laughter of his handsome husband. It was his favorite sound.

-Ouch, you hurt my feelings- he replied but there was not a single note of anger in his voice- Wait to see the rest.

Still holding Rafe from behind, he closed the refrigerator door and led him to the oven. He hadn’t realized it before but from this new position Rafe saw something inside.

-Please tell me that you've ordered that somewhere and that you just have to reheat it. I wouldn't want to end up in the hospital.

-You've got really low expecatives of me, Rafael- with a slight squeeze in his stomach, Sam separated from him and proceeded to open the oven. Rafe felt a shudder at the other man's sudden lack of body heat.

-Voilà! Your favorite food- he pointed to it very exaggeratedly with both arms- whiskey oven-baked sea bass, or so I tried- he smiled nervously.

Rafe didn't mind the sight of the half-scorched fish, he was too busy looking at Sam almost with devotion. This man who did so much for him when he felt he did not deserve it. He sensed the need to kiss him and when he did, it was from the depths of his being.

Rafe used to have problems with words on the subject of love, that's why whatever he'd feel, he'd show it by body language. Sam knew how to interpret it and when he returned the kiss, he savored gratitude mixed with affection and a light urgency. Rafe ran his hands through Sam's hair and drew him to himself, needing him closer. Sam was more than pleased with the reaction of his little one and slipped his hands down Rafe's sides, stroking him over his shirt until his fingers interlaced behind his back. Rafe was the first to break the kiss, gasping for air.

-Thank you- he whispered with his eyes still closed and his forehead resting on Sam's.

-The best for the best- he replied in the same tone before kissing him again.

 

Sam set the table while Rafe tried to save the edible remainings of the fish. The edges were burnt but the rest didn't look bad. Sam grabbed a bottle of white wine from the pantry and a couple of candles and lit them.

-Really, Sam? Candles?

-What? That way we will spend less light, besides- he said with that wolfish half smile that drove Rafe mad- we can take this dinner as a mini celebration since we've been living here for a year.

-There are still two months le- Sam pouted like a small child as he knew it was something that bothered Rafe and that it was a way to get away with it- fine, whatever.

Rafe was rewarded with a broad smile and he rolled his eyes before turning to grab the food. He served both dishes methodically and they talked for a while about insignificant stuff. The sea bass tasted better than it looked and that made Sam so damn annoying pulling out the subject whenever he could to annoy Rafe, who just ignored him until Sam started talking about any nonsense again. That's when Rafe remembered.

-Didn't you have classes today?

-Yeah- Sam took a sip of his glass- but I preferred to spend the night with you.

-Oh?- Rafe, raising an eyebrow, bit into a piece of fish.

-I'm serious. I had to insist on another teacher to replace me even though he didn't have to do it. In the end I bribed him by "giving him" my two next days off. I will replace him- he raised his hand and touched his forehead, denying, as if it were the greatest sacrifice to which he had been subjected to in this life.

-How dramatic- he commented quietly but a warm sensation spread through his body. Sam always did as much as possible for him and Rafe did not have the feeling that he was returning it at the same level.

-You don't know what you have until it's gone- in a quick movement, Sam reached out and took his fork out before he could eat.

-Hey, that's mine!

-Come and get it- with a mischievous look, he devoured the fish.

 

After finishing dinner, they picked up the table and cleaned up the mess that Sam had created, much to his regret, and they went to sit on the couch to eat the catastrophic cake. Sam switched on the television but turned the volume down to an almost inaudible level so the slight murmur accompanied them.

-I have the hospital number stored on my cell phone in case it's necessary- Rafe commented with a strange expression that imitated uncertainty.

-If you continue with that, I'll be the cause of your trip to the hospital- he gave him a light knock on his shoulder with his fist, then a smile of self-sufficiency- you said the same thing about the fish and look how it ended.

-I surrender, I have to accept that you may not be as bad as I thought- he raised his palms up, then a smug smile mimicking Sam's- but not as good as I am.

-Touché.

-By the way, what's that red thing on the top of the cake?

Sam looked at it and wrinkled his nose.

-Isn't my best work. It is supposed to be a "R" and a "S".

-Sam, seriously, you're so cheesy- he couldn't help but laugh.

-It is not! It has a pirate skull painted in the middle.

-That makes it naff- now he was laughing, even clutching his stomach. Sam was as predictable as a little boy. But an adorable one.

-Well, "mister-complain-about-everything"- he said cutting a piece and placing it on a small plate - since everything is mixed, let's just say it's abstract art.

He handed him the plate and Rafe tried a piece. He chewed a couple of times and looked at Sam in astonishment.

-Sam, this is fucking delicious.

Sam's satisfied face made him regret the comment immediately.

-It seems that someone is a better baker than another...

-Not even in your dreams.

 

They ate the tasty cake of misleading appearance whilst Sam did some zapping until he found something of his interest.

-The new season of The Curse of Oak Island is on!- he exclaimed, turning up the volume.

-What is it about?

-About two brothers who are looking for a treasure in Oak Island at Nova Scotia. There are clues linking the Knights Templar, various sects such as the Illuminati or the Masons and famous ancient pirates with the treasure. It is even rumored that the Ark of the Covenant was deposited there once the city of Babylon was destroyed.

-That sounds more like a fable than reality- Rafe said leaning on Sam and placing his head on his shoulder. Sam instinctively wrapped his arm around him and played with his hair, absorbed in the program.

-I'm surprised you say that after the Avery thing. Especially for how fast you believed in my words when we first met.

-I was young and inexperienced.

A sad and melancholy smile crossed the face of both men recalling all the damage they had caused to each other over the years and how much effort it cost them to forgive and achieve this level of comfort. Now, however, they were experimenting a much more powerful feeling that growed every minute which bound them closer every day.

They fell silent, Sam sometimes commenting that the data was wrong, Rafe, although entertained with the program, began to get bored and had more suggestive plans in mind.

-I'm sure Nathan and I would solve the mystery sooner than them- Sam added narrowing his eyes, as if defying the television.

Rafe rolled his eyes and decided he had put up with this too much. He would get Sam's attention the best way he knew. He slipped his hand under his T-shirt and traced a line of kisses from his forearm to his neck, where he bit the skin on which the tattoo he liked so damn much was placed. A silly laugh escaped the older man's lips.

-What you doing? Already so needy? If you wanted attention, you just had to- ah.

Rafe shut him up by brushing his pelvis against Sam's and smiled before kissing him intensely. Sam groaned when their tongues met and grabbed Rafe's hair to bring him closer to himself. Soon the show was forgotten. Sam was the first to break the kiss.

-W- wait, as much as I want this, I got something more for you.

Rafe, flushed cheeks and hair scattered across his forehead, looked at him from above in a mixture of curiosity, fascination and remorse.

-Even more?

-Yep ... here it is.

Gently pushing Rafe aside, he sat cross-legged and stretched out his arm to the edge of the couch. From a bag he pulled something small wrapped in gray gift wrap and handed it to him.

Rafe took it expectantly and broke the paper carefully. What he had in his hands was a small notebook bound in brown leather. Rafe looked at him quizzically.

-Open it- Sam smiled but he looked nervous.

Rafe's jaw dropped at the first page.

-This is…?

He was wordless. It was a drawing of him asleep on the bed traced in hard black lines. The details were exceptional; his hair scrambled, his arms under the pillow, the sheet revolted around his body. He turned the page and there was another. On this occasion he was at the desk of the apartment filling a document with a concentrated expression behind his reading glasses. He turned more pages and in each one there was a draw; eating an apple by the fridge, in the park where they used to go for a walk, dressed in a tuxedo, with an expression of irritation, climbing the wall of a mountain on one of their expeditions, swimming on the beach ...

The voice, that one that had accompanied him since he had memory, appeared in his mind and repeated that he did _not deserve_ a great man like Sam. He did _not deserve_ any kind of affection. He felt so small and helpless at such a great display of genuine appreciation... A drop fell on the drawing of him placing the first picture when they moved to the apartment.

-Eh, Rafe… babe?

Softly, Sam lifted the young man's chin to see that he was crying. Sam knew instantly what was happening inside his damaged mind and hugged him tightly.

-Not even for a second think that, you hear me? I love you madly, from the depths of my being. I love you.

Rafe trembled in his arms.

-I lo- the words burned on his tongue like acid. This great feeling frightened him, returned him to that early time when a dark figure taught him that to develop such dependence was wrong, that he was weak. But luckily, Sam was always there to rescue him from the darkness.

-Shhh it's okay, you don't have to say it. I know it- he reassured him, caressing his back and kissing softly his neck.

Rafe clung tightly to his shoulders and hiding his face in Sam's neck, he cried and cried until the voice disappeared.

 

Once Rafe calmed down, Sam led him to the bathroom and with a damp handkerchief he helped him wipe his face. Rafe grabbed him by the belt and looked down at his chest with the expression of a lost boy. Sam knew what he felt; shame at having acted that way, uneasiness at remembering his traumatic childhood and youth, vulnerability at not feeling in control. So he calmed him the best way he knew. He stroke his face with his thumb from his brow bone, sliding it down his jaw to his chin and pulled him close to give him a chaste kiss to instill him some serenity. Sam instantly felt Rafe's body tense as he faced the mental dilemma of whether to return the kiss or not, still lost in distant memories. Gradually, with slow caresses on his cheek, Sam felt him relax against his body. Rafe returned the kiss and what began as something timid ended with the urgency that Sam perceived earlier in the kitchen. Rafe pushed Sam against the sink, producing him a slight pain in his back in which he couldn't concentrate because Rafe's strong, posesive hands were all over his body claiming him. _Oh_ , how intoxicated he felt at being so wanted.

Rafe slided his hands under Sam's t-shirt and pulled it away almost breaking it. Sam laughed as he kissed his bare chest and at the strangely pleasant sensation of cold and heat he was experiencing.

Grabbing Rafe by the hand, he led the way to the bedroom and let his implacable husband take charge of the situation knowing that it would make him feel better. He let himself be thrown on the soft mattress and got lost in Rafe's dark and hungry gaze. Both men reached the ecstasy between groans, whispers and panting. When they came to orgasm, Rafe hid his face in Sam's neck as he used to do and Sam hugged him while stroking his back. His fingers tingled with the urge to light a cigarette like every time he finished having sex but he knew how much Rafe hated the smell getting impregnated in him and in the room, so to distract himself he gave him a wet kiss on his neck, inhaling his fragance that was a blend of sweat, sex and the cologne that Sam had given him as a gift a time ago. He smiled humbly at the sensation.

Meanwhile, Rafe was sensing a strange new feeling, though not unpleasant. A wave of warmth born of Sam's actions throughout the day filled his whole body and helped him confront that oppressive voice in his mind. He had always seen it in his imagination as a black and distorted figure of a man who stalked him every day. But something new happened that night: a second figure, this one white, appeared and crossed the dark one. Although Rafe very well knew that it hadn't disappeared, at the moment he felt freed and finally could pronounce those dreaded words:

-I love you.

It was barely a whisper. Sam probably wouldn't have heard it if Rafe had not practically said it in his ear. Sam looked at him in surprise and Rafe laughed shyly at the feat he had managed to achieve. He always told himself that when the time came nothing harmful would occur but that voice was continually present to remind him that his world would change, and not for the better. To his surprise, though he was trembling in Sam's arms and feeling unprotected, he noted tranquility and joy as he had never felt before.

That cold winter night, in that room that looked otherworldly at being colored by the bluish gray tone of the moon, Sam cried and laughed unanimously as he smooched his little one.

-Holy shit, I love you too much, so much that it can't be good for my health. You're the best treasure I've ever had the chance to find, you know?

-You're goddamn cheesy, you know?

And although Rafe mocked the comment, he seconded it completely.


End file.
